Jogger recounts search effort for drowning victim

A Medford man pulled from Pearce Lake in Saugus on Sunday night was pronounced dead at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.

Mike Gaffney/ mgaffney@wickedlocal.com

A Medford man pulled from Pearce Lake in Saugus on Sunday night was pronounced dead at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.

Luis C. Espinoza, of 10 Thatcher St., Apt 2, Medford, was swimming with a group of friends at the Breakheart Reservation lake around 7 p.m. when he went under.

Officials initially said Espinoza, 34, was a Melrose resident, but later confirmed that he lived in Medford.

Essex County District Attorney’s Office Spokesman Steve O’Connell said two of Espinoza’s friends swam about 75 yards from one large rock to another in the center of the lake, which is located in the middle of the state park near the Wakefield line.

“When the two friends got to the rock, they saw the victim jump in and start to swim toward them,” O’Connell said. “The victim started having trouble, and went under. Espinoza’s two friends attempted to swim to him but got tired and had to turn around.”

The friends called 911 and Saugus Fire Department personnel responded to the scene, as well as State Police attached to the Danvers barracks.

Saugus Provisional Fire Chief Don McQuaid said three firefighters — Lt. Kevin McDermott, Bill Cross and Mark Gannon — launched a boat into the water to search for the victim. They navigated the marine unit across Pearce Lake to a spot where bystanders reported Espinoza went in.

“They saw something white in the water and recognized it was the victim,” McQuaid said.

Gannon and a jogger, Joseph Calabresi Jr., 41, of Wakefield, who came upon the scene, jumped into the 9-foot deep water to reach Espinoza. Together they managed to pull him to shore.

Calabresi said he heard the sirens and stopped to look at was going on. A lifeguard at Breakheart Reservation while in high school and college, he then ran to emergency personnel out of both curiosity and a desire to help when he realized what was happening. He said he was surprised that he didn’t see anyone else attempt to help with the efforts.

“I hesitated; I didn’t want to interfere,” Calabresi said when reached the next day. “I begged for permission to jump in, dove in, and all I did was help pluck him off the bottom to the surface…It was an intense experience.”

He noted there were no lifeguards since it was after hours. He wished he could have helped more if he followed through with his original plan of going for a swim that day.

“It’s a shame,” Calabresi said. “I was going to go for a swim, but it was a little too crowded and I ran around the trails instead.”

McQuaid said firefighters immediately began CPR on Espinoza and loaded him onto the boat. They then took him back across Pearce Lake to the beach side to a waiting ambulance.

Espinoza was rushed to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, where he was pronounced dead despite the lifesaving efforts.

O’Connell said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston.

McQuaid commended firefighters under the command of Capt. Thomas Nolan for finding Espinoza so quickly.

“They did a great job considering the circumstances, unfortunately the outcome wasn’t what we hoped,” McQuaid said.

The trio was swimming at a late enough time during the day when no lifeguards were on duty, McQuaid said. He urged the public to exercise caution when swimming by doing so when lifeguards are present and to stay within the marked boundaries.

“Nobody should have to die of drowning,” Calabresi said when reflecting on the day. “Know your limits.”

This isn’t the first time tragedy has struck a swimmer at Pearce Lake. In June 2008, a 16-year-old Lynn Tech student, Shanequa McKenzie of Lynn, drowned while swimming at the state park.